One of the most dreaded and tiresome, yet effective lifts that you can possibly do is called a thruster. It’s the star exercise of MANY Crossfit workouts. This exercise will completely wear you out because it involves a combo of so many different movements, but if you can perform this exercise correctly with a lot of weight….you’ll be as strong as an ox. Here’s a breakdown of the thruster: the ultimate full body exercise.
The Clean
Initially the bar starts on the floor unless you’re doing it in a rack. So somehow you have to somehow get it up on your shoulders to start the exercise. You’re going to have to perform a power clean to get the bar from the floor up onto the front rack on your shoulders.
The Front Rack
This is the starting position of the thruster. You want your upper arm parallel with the floor. Your elbows should be bent and your fingers are stretched backwards, tucked under the bar. If you keep your elbows up, your anterior deltoids should create a nice shelf for the bar to sit on.
Front Squat
The first movement of a thruster is a front squat. You want to sit back on your heels and lower your butt past the plane of your knees. It’s crucial to keep your chest and elbows high so your back stays tight.
The Shoulder Press
The next part of the lift is basically a standing shoulder press . In a regular shoulder press you don’t want to get your legs involved at all.
In this case, using your legs is part of the exercise. Going from the front squat to the press should be one fluid motion.
When you get the bar over your head, make sure you bring your head through so that your biceps are right by your ears. Don’t let the bar float away from you to the front or the back. It should be directly over your head.
As you lower the bar back down to the starting position on your front rack, absorb the weight of the bar into the next front squat. That will prevent bar from slamming down on your shoulders and your spine getting a nice shock.
To get muscle definition, tone up, gain strength, or all of the above…..thrusters should be one of your go-to exercises. It’s the ultimate full body exercise. I you learned how to do the perfect thruster with this breakdown. If you have any questions, just leave a comment or contact me and I’ll get back to you right away. Please take a second to share this article on facebook. You’ll most likely also like How To Make Incredible Strength Gains Using Chains.
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